


Only Hope

by alicewonder87



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Inspired by Music, Inspired by a walk to remember, Past Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Sort of a Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-20
Updated: 2019-08-20
Packaged: 2020-09-19 08:47:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20328364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alicewonder87/pseuds/alicewonder87
Summary: Harry finds himself back at Hogwarts for his final year following the war. All he wants is to enjoy one year without the fate of the entire world on his shoulders. Wandering around the castle one night leads him to a young woman with a gorgeous voice. Who is she? And why does she seem to fill him with peace for the first time in years?





	Only Hope

**Author's Note:**

> I was inspired by the Mandy Moore song "Only hope" for this fic. I love the movie A walk to remember and was watching it one night when this little plot bunny came to me. I do borrow some quotes from the movie in this fic, and I don't own Harry Potter or anything related to A walk to remember. No beta, so all mistakes are mine. Enjoy!

It was late at night while roaming the Hogwart’s corridors under the safety of the invisibility cloak that he heard the piano playing. The gorgeous voice followed soon after. Intrigued, Harry followed the sound as it echoed down the hall. He was led to an empty, dusty classroom, where a soft yellow light shone through the crack in the doorway. 

Pulling the door open softly, Harry saw a small figure seated at the piano, her back to the door. Candles littered various surfaces in the room, and she swayed back and forth as her voice was raised in song. He couldn’t see the expression on her face as she sang, but her voice caused the hairs to rise on his arms. Her cloak was slung over one of the dusty chairs, but he couldn’t make out the emblem of her house on it. 

The mystery girl was quiet a moment, her fingers touching the ivory and black keys softly. She let out a large breath and pushed the bench back with a sigh. Harry stepped back to the wall and watched as she covered the keys and rose off the bench. 

Her voice was soft, “Be back tomorrow night.” 

The mystery girl kept her back to him as she raised her wand and covered the piano with an old sheet and cast a couple of spells. Harry inched forward to try to catch a glimpse of her face, and he bumped into the open door. The sound startled her, and she gathered up her cloak and was gone in a flash. He found he was disappointed as he made his way back to Gryffindor tower. He wanted to see her. He hadn’t heard anything half as lovely or pure since the war ended. 

Just thinking about how many people died and how bloody that final battle was made his spirits, which had been lifted by the mystery girl with the angelic voice, sink a little. Once he had secured a victory for the light, Harry wasn't’ sure what to do with himself. He could have joined the Aurors and married Ginny, but his heart wasn’t in it. Ginny had changed during the war, and he had too. When he got the invite to return for his final year, he took it. The chance to act like a boy his age instead of shouldering responsibilities he shouldn’t have was liberating. 

Harry thought about the young woman all day. He barely focused on lessons and it wasn’t until dinner that Hermione nudged him out of his thoughts. 

“What’s up with you today? You’ve been daydreaming all day Harry.” Hermione’s voice was full of concern as she stared at her best friend. 

Harry pushed his food around on his plate and let a sigh escape his lips, “I know.” 

Hermione shot him a confused look, “ Aren’t you going to tell me what’s wrong?” 

Harry sighed, “No. I’ll show you, provided she returns tonight.” 

Hermione gave him a quizzical look and opened her mouth to say something, only to shut it promptly. Finally, she nodded and returned to eating. 

It was late when Harry led her down the same hallway he encountered last night. He let a soft smile spread on his face as he heard the piano playing. When that same voice raised in song, he glanced at Hermione under the cloak and nodded his head down the hall. They stopped at the door, which Hermione pulled open. Her back was to the door, her dark hair falling in waves. Her cloak was on the same chair, and the candle flames flickered in the air. 

Harry glanced over at Hermione and saw her brow was furrowed. She was trying to identify the girl, but as she shrugged her shoulders he could tell she didn’t know who it was either. Hermione’s brown eyes shot over to her cloak and they widened in recognition. 

Hermione dragged him away to the tower and once they were alone, slipped out from under the cloak. 

She ran her fingers through her unruly curls and sent him a glance. “ Do you know her?” 

Harry shook his head, “No. I don’t. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have asked you to come with me. Who is she?” 

Hermione pressed her lips together. She glanced up the ceiling and heaved a sigh. It was like she was trying to word what she was about to say carefully. Finally, she said, “I’ll show you at breakfast tomorrow.” 

Harry barely slept that night. He hadn’t been interested in something so much since the war ended. Everything had run together, the colors, the sounds. He hated being recognized for what he did and just wanted to get back to his normal once again. Standing there under his cloak, with that angelic voice surrounding him, he felt at peace. He was nervous though, as Hermione led him to breakfast the next morning. 

As they arrived, he nibbled on toast and sipped tea until Hermione nudged him. 

“That’s her. Over there.” Hermione’s voice was soft, pointing to the small figure who had entered the hall. 

Harry’s emerald gaze followed her finger until they landed on her. She was beautiful. Her dark hair hung in soft waves down her back, and her large chocolate eyes shone as she gazed up at the enchanted ceiling. She was small, and her figure was obscured by the black cloak she wore. When his eyes landed on the green and silver Slytherin emblem on her robes, his heart fell to the floor a bit. 

She was a Slytherin? How was that possible? How could the girl with the angelic voice be a Slytherin? 

Hermione leaned in and whispered, “That’s Rebecca Miller. She’s a muggleborn. Rumor has it Malfoy is looking to court her. She’s in my Arithmancy class. She’s also a rumored Seer.” 

Harry let his eyes land on her again as she sat at the table, far removed from her classmates. She didn’t make small talk, just ate her meal and left just as quickly. She stopped near the door, her eyes landing on his, almost as if she knew she was being watched. Her lips lifted in a soft smile, and she was gone. 

He wasn’t sure what to do. He wanted to talk to her, but she was a Slytherin. He found himself outside the classroom, his cloak tucked under his arm as she approached. She smiled at him and walked into the classroom, seemingly unbothered by his presence. She slipped her cloak from her shoulders, lit the candles and uncovered the piano. Harry followed her into the room, taking a seat near the piano. 

Her small fingers danced across the keys a moment as she stared at him. 

“ I’ve seen you before, haven’t I? Like a memory from a dream.” Harry stared at her, his eyes boring into hers. 

Rebecca smiled, “Tell me about this dream.” 

There was a silence that hung between them. Finally, Harry spoke the truth. 

“I don’t remember. But I all know, is that you're beautiful. Will you sing for me?” His voice was soft, but it carried over the soft notes of the piano as she played. 

Finally, she sang to him. And her voice sent shivers down his spine and made the hairs on his arm stand up. He watched as she occasionally closed her eyes, her fingers barely pausing on the keys. Her hair swayed with her as she sang, moving back and forth on the bench. Her dark eyes locked on his as she neared the end of the song and he was every bit as struck dumb by her as he was the first night he heard her. 

As she played the final notes, Harry found he didn’t care about her house status. Slytherin or not, he wanted to get to know her. He wanted to hear her sing again. Something about her made him feel at peace for the first time a long time. His heart fluttered as she smiled at him. 

“What do you want to know Harry?” Her voice reminded him of Luna’s, soft, and slightly dreamy. 

Harry twisted his fingers around his cloak, “ I hear Malfoy is wanting to court you.” 

Rebecca nodded. “ He’s trying to anyway. He wouldn’t have succeeded anyway.” 

Harry found he was happy at her words. Rebecca smiled at him, and he was glad that Malfoy was failing. He watched as she rose, covering the piano. She picked up her cloak from the chair, her eyes still locked on his. She gave him a soft smile and when she spoke, her voice was soft, her dark eyes locked on some point behind him. 

“Trust your heart. Trust in the unknown, and never let others decide your fate, for they will be your undoing.” Her voice, although soft, was oddly stilted. Her eyes were expressionless. 

Finally, she shook her head, as if she was clearing a thought and smiled at him before slipping from the room. Harry wasn’t sure what to do. He thought about Rebecca even as they neared the end of the year. As graduation approached, he remembered her words. He wasn’t sure if she was a Seer, but her words rang true as he watched her across the crowds at their graduation ceremony. 

Ginny was at his side, her fingers digging into his arm as she clung to him. She smiled for the cameras as they flashed and sent him dirty looks each time she caught his gaze wandering to Rebecca. She was leading him away from the crowds and he was only half-listening to her as she was talking to him. She was talking about engagement rings, where to live and what he would do now that he was done at Hogwarts. 

Harry looked over Ginny’s shoulder and spotted Rebecca a few yards away. She was standing next to Malfoy, who was introducing her to his parents. Harry’s heart twisted in his chest as he thought about Malfoy trying to court her. He thought about Malfoy spending time with her, at getting to hear her angelic voice. How he probably wouldn’t be able to hear her voice again if he let Ginny corral him in something he didn’t want.

He pushed past her, ignoring her objections as he made his way through the crowd. He placed his hand on Rebecca’s arm and was rewarded with a soft smile. He could smell her lavender perfume, and she looked beautiful. Harry slipped his fingers through Rebecca’s and led her through the crowd that parted for him as he strode past surprised people. He led her past the wards and apparated them out to Grimmauld Place. 

Harry led her into the library where Sirius and Remus waited for him and introduced her to them. 

“Sirius, Remus, this is Rebecca. My girlfriend.” Harry shot her a nervous glance, uncertain of his words in that second. 

But it lasted only a second. Rebecca sent him a smile and shook their hands, a smile on her face as she spoke, “ Nice to meet you.” 

Harry was glad he’d acted that day. He always knew he was destined to remember that final year at Hogwarts, but he never thought he’d meet the one woman who would make him feel so complete in his life. Nothing, and no one, besides his parents, inspired the feelings of love he held for Rebecca. 

And when they bought their first house, the first thing he purchased for it was a black piano. And every night, he sat next to her and listened to his angel sing. Over the years, as their family grew, Rebecca taught their children to sing and play that very piano and now he touched it with reverence, his wrinkled hand sliding over the keys softly. There was a small crowd gathered in the room, and with his children surrounding him, he glanced out over the crowd. 

Harry’s voice was fraught with emotion as he spoke, his son’s hands on his shoulders, providing him strength. “ Rebecca saved my life. I’ll always miss her. But our love is like the wind, I can’t see it, but I can feel it.” 

Harry didn’t want to think about what his life would have been like if he hadn’t acted that day. Rebecca told him never to look back on life and wonder what might have been but to look forward to the future. And even though his future was slightly dimmed by her passing, he looked forward through the tears that filled his eyes and knew he couldn’t wait until he saw her again. For he would have a lot to tell her.


End file.
